Switzerland

Swiss financial market supervisory authority FINMA is calling for tougher instruments as a consequence of the downfall of Credit Suisse. This includes, for example, the option for it to impose fines.

FINMA would also like to see improvements in capital regulation as part of the “too-big-to-fail” requirements. Stricter standards are needed at the level of the individual institution, writes the supervisory authority in a report on lessons learnedExternal link from the Credit Suisse crisis published on Tuesday.

Due to the accumulation of problems and deficiencies at Credit Suisse, which was taken over by UBS in March 2023, FINMA intensified its supervisory activities in recent years and imposed ever more drastic measures, according to the report. In doing so, it went to the limits of its legal possibilities. ...

Swiss Energy Minister Albert Rösti and his counterparts from six European Union countries have pledged to get all of their electricity from carbon free sources by 2035.

Swiss electricity production is already nearly CO2-free. Only 2% of the electricity produced in Switzerland last year came from fossil fuels. The fact that Germany, France, Austria, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg now also want to switch to CO2-free electricity generation by 2035 will have advantages for Switzerland, said Energy Minister Albert Rösti.

A significant proportion of the electricity consumed in Switzerland comes from abroad. “The phase-out of fossil fuels only makes a difference if the imported electricity is also fossil fuel-free,” said Rösti. “In this respect, it is important for Switzerland.” ...

Activist investor Cevian has acquired a 1.3% stake, worth €1.2 billion (CHF1.14 billion), in the Swiss bank UBS. This makes the Swedish investment firm one of the bank’s ten largest investors.

Cevian sees significant potential for value appreciation at UBS following the takeover of Credit Suisse, as detailed in a press release issued on Tuesday. Cevian co-founder Lars Förberg was quoted as saying that the Board of Directors and the management team had done an excellent job in integrating Credit Suisse.

The Swiss government has been given more flexibility when it comes to approving the export of war material. Both chambers of parliament have agreed to allow the government to deviate from previous restrictions on such exports in exceptional cases.

Against the opposition of left-wing parties in parliament including the Social Democrats and Greens, a center-right coalition approved an amendment to the War Material Act on Monday. This means a new article (Article 22b) will be added to the law.

According to the new article, the government may in future deviate from the previous licensing criteria for the export of war material abroad in exceptional circumstances. This must also be necessary to safeguard the country's foreign or security policy interests. ...

The Swiss canton of Valais has already reached half of its wolf hunting target, shooting 17 of the animals in 18 days since active wolf hunting opened on December 1.

The Department of Hunting, Fishing and Wildlife was "satisfied" with this result, it announced on Monday at the request of the Keystone-SDA news agency.

In November, the State Council declared that the operation would be a "great success" if the canton managed to get "between ten and 15" in the next two months. With 17 animals killed, the canton has now shot half of the wolves it was targeting in just under three weeks. ...

Swiss researchers have stumbled upon the means to supercharge Botox, as they were carrying out experiments designed to dampen the effects of the neurotoxin.

The research project was looking for ways to inhibit the effects of Botox, according to a statement from the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) on Monday.

PSI researchers developed proteins that dock onto the part of the enzyme that is responsible for its effect on the nerves. This technique was intended to act as a suppressant. ...

The Swiss army's fleet of 248 M113 armoured personnel carriers has been banned from driving after a steering and braking defect was detected.

A maintenance deficiency was discovered that made the military vehicle unable to steer or brake.

The necessary repair work and the procurement of the necessary spare parts have already been initiated, the Federal Department of Defense, Civil Protection and Sport announced on Monday. ...

Doctors in Switzerland prescribed antibiotics twice as often in the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic as before.

This is shown by a new study by researchers at the University Hospital of Basel. According to the study published in the journal "Clinical Microbiology and Infection", the use of antibiotics doubled from around eight to 16 antibiotic prescriptions per 100 consultations. ...

Non-governmental organisations are calling on the Swiss National Bank (SNB) to phase out fracking investments. According to an economics professor, other measures would be more effective.

The Swiss Climate Alliance (SCA) has been putting pressure on the central bank for months. It calls for investments in companies that engage in fracking to be abandoned. On Monday, SCA presented the SNB with a corresponding petition with 60,000 signatures.

According to the coalition of various organisations, the SNB currently holds securities in 69 fracking companies worth $9 billion. SCA calculates that the central bank is therefore responsible for seven million tonnes of CO2 emissions annually. ...

The average gifting budget has fallen to CHF411 ($473), down from last year's record of CHF500.

Consumer morale is being weighed down by inflation, rising health costs and general economic uncertainty, according to a study released by the GfK institute on Monday. In all, 40% of those questioned expect to spend less on gifts and a third expect to donate less to charitable organisations than in previous years.

Kurt Meister, an expert at GfK, believes that the Swiss are "shopping in a more targeted way and paying more attention to sales promotions", such as Black Week. ...

Real wages should rise slightly in 2024, but there are still some significant exceptions.

The Swiss trade union umbrella organisation Travail.Suisse considers wage negotiations to be satisfactory overall. The slight increase expected in 2024 applies above all to employment relationships governed by collective agreements.

For the economy as a whole, however, real wages will stagnate after three years of falling purchasing power. Overall, real wages will remain below their pre-pandemic level. ...

The European Union's (EU) ambassador to Switzerland, Petros Mavromichalis, is confident that a future package of agreements between Switzerland and the EU will be concluded.

The advantages far outweigh any possible disadvantages, he believes.

"I think there is some assurance that what is on the table is close enough to an agreement that both parties can agree to," said Mavromichalis in an interview with RTS's Forum programme on Sunday.

"We're not starting from scratch", the ambassador pointed out. Switzerland and the EU have been negotiating institutional issues for almost 15 years. The problems are well known. "During the exploratory talks, we concentrated on the most sensitive issues to see if there was a way of resolving them to the satisfaction of both parties.” ...

Solidarity in Switzerland has increased significantly since the Covid-19 pandemic. These are the findings of Swiss Solidarity's latest solidarity barometer.

The results of the survey published on Monday show that the Swiss population shows marked solidarity across all generations. Women show slightly more solidarity than men.

In German- and French-speaking Switzerland, solidarity is primarily synonymous with helping family members and neighbours. In Italian-speaking Ticino, solidarity mainly means helping people in need. ...

Around a third of Ukrainian refugees in Switzerland hope one day to return to their country of origin, according to a survey.

The majority, 40%, are undecided on the matter, according to a survey conducted by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the Swiss State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) and Ipsos.

Another third of the Ukrainians questioned in the survey said they did not wish to return to their country. The main obstacles to return cited were security problems and the Russian occupation of the region in which they were living, lack of access to healthcare, and lack of work and livelihood opportunities. ...

The Federal Administrative Court has upheld an appeal by two Afghan women against their deportation from Switzerland. Consequently, they must be granted asylum in the Alpine country.

The court upheld the new asylum practice of the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM).

A self-determined life for women and girls in Afghanistan is not possible under the current regime, the Swiss court concluded in a judgement published by the NZZ am Sonntag on Sunday. According to the court, this discrimination is a significant motive for persecution under refugee law. ...

The 3,000 job cuts UBS plans to make in Switzerland as it integrates Credit Suisse will be partly based on meritocracy, according to UBS Chief Executive Officer Sergio Ermotti.

In an interview in Le Matin Dimanche on Sunday, Ermotti said: “We are going to try our best on the principle of meritocracy, and use retirements, early retirements and natural departures. It's not 3,000 people at Credit Suisse who made mistakes, probably much fewer.” ...

The Swiss weather service SRF Meteo says 2023 was the second warmest in Switzerland since records began. Last year was even hotter.

When comparing temperatures in 2023 with those of the 1961-1990 period, temperatures this year were higher than the norm by around 2.5° Celsius, both in the north and south of Switzerland, SRF Meteo said in a press release on Saturday.

It was only the long cold spell in late autumn that prevented a new annual record from being set. ...

Around 500 people took part in a march on Saturday in memory of the victims of fatal shootings in Sion in southern Switzerland last week.

Participants of all ages, including families with children, took part in the silent march in Sion, canton Valais, on Saturday, with many holding white balloons and white or red roses.

A 34-year-old woman and a 41-year-old man from Valais were killed in the shootings in Sion on December 11. The shooter first opened fire on the woman in a parking lot, who later died from the fatal gunshot wound. ...

The level of Lake Neuchâtel in western Switzerland is set to reach its “critical” limit this Saturday after heavy rains, the authorities say. But a return to normal is expected by next Tuesday.

The level of Lake Neuchâtel rose to 430.39 metres by 9am on Saturday morning, Denis Froidevaux, head of the cantonal control staff for canton Vaud, told the Keystone-SDA news agency. This is one centimetre below the critical threshold of 430.4 metres, which should be reached later on Saturday.

So far, however, flooding along the lake shores in canton Vaud has not caused any damage to infrastructure or buildings. The projected level should remain below the 430.71 metres recorded during the floods of summer 2021. ...

The Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) has filed an appeal with the Federal Administrative Court in order to resume the shooting of wolf packs in Switzerland.

The environment office wants the court to lift the suspension effect resulting from recent appeals by nature conservation groups against a federal government decision to authorise the shooting of wolf packs.

Last week, the Swiss court blocked the culling of three wolf packs in canton Valais in southern Switzerland following an appeal by environmental groups. ...

Passenger trains started running again on Saturday morning through the Lötschberg tunnel in the Swiss Alps. This follows repair work inside the tunnel after heavy rains last week.

The railway company BLS announced that one of the two tunnel tubes reopened at 8.00am on Saturday, allowing passenger traffic to resume.

The two tubes of the 14.6-kilometre Alpine tunnel joining the cantons of Bern and Valais were closed on December 14 after infiltrations were reported. These were caused by heavy rain on the section between Ferden and St. German in canton Valais that led to the diversion of traffic via the summit rail line. Mud, sand and water have now been cleared from one track. ...

Switzerland’s government tried to get ahead of criticism of any new deal agreed with the European Union, saying it will include protections for local interests.

The comment, made as the executive approved a negotiating mandate, is a response to concern that the government will make too many concessions to secure a deal. The Swiss People’s Party, the largest in parliament, has already accused the government of “dishonesty” and said it will fight any increase of EU influence over Switzerland. ...

Police stopped a van packed with 14 people in the central Swiss canton of Uri on Friday.

The van, which had already evaded police checks in northern Italy, had previously been pursued by several police cars.

The police suspect that all of the people are Syrian nationals. They are in police custody. ...

A female lynx has attacked three dogs in the Yvonand area in the Swiss canton of Vaud in recent days. But experts do not consider the wild cat’s behavior to be problematic as the mother lynx was protecting her young.

The Vaud Environment Agency is of the opinion that no measures need to be taken, it told the Keystone-SDA news agency on Friday. The office confirmed a report in the newspaper 24 heures.

According to the Vaud authorities, the attacks occurred on December 7, 8 and 11 in a large forest not far from the shores of Lake Neuchâtel, near Yvonand.

In addition to protecting the young, the presence of a wild animal carcass in the first two attacks could also explain the lynx's behavior, the environmental agency noted. She may have wanted to defend her prey. ...

French cement manufacturer Lafarge, which now belongs to Swiss company Holcim, has again been summoned to court over its actions in Syria.

The lawsuit against Lafarge was filed in a federal court in New York by a group called Yazidi Americans, as reported by the Reuters news agency.

Lafarge was previously accused of having paid bribes to the terrorist organisation Islamic State (IS) in 2013 and 2014 to maintain production at its cement factory in Syria. The French cement manufacturer was taken over in 2015 by its Swiss competitor Holcim. ...